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RSSArchive for the ‘politics/world news’ CategoryAmerica: the good, the bad, and the uglyPosted June 29th, 2008 by Jen in family life, holidays, humor, politics/world news, the ranch18 Comments » This next weekend ushers in the birthday of the United States of America! Here are a few word pictures from this past week from me, in small town America, 232 years and still going. I’ve included the good, the bad, and the ugly, but as you’ll see, in America, we take the good with the bad and roll with it, and even the ugly - well, it’s a free country and we can call ugly if we want. Yesterday morning, at a local parade, celebrating that old west pastime called Rodeo, I was thrilled to see my friends’ Clydesdales in all their hugeness. This was GOOD.
And where else but Prineville could I find the Amazing Trash Can Marching Band? They dispose of garbage in step and in style. These guys were GOOD!
On to the BAD…look at the interesting mound I discovered on our property a few days ago.
Kids, do NOT jump in the pretty pile, because…take a closer look: Ooowwww. These are some aggressive ants, and I’ve been scrambling to find out what they are. Most notably, they have a red head and body and a shiny black behind. At first glance, they look and act just like the Allegheny Mound Ants. Build enormous piles. Have red head/thorax and black abdomen. But those mostly live in the upper Midwest to the New England states and south to Georgia. So, another possibility is the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA). They also build mounds. Also have red forebody and black abdomen. But they live mostly in the southeast, however a few California counties have been infested, and there’s been suspected infestations in Oregon. I’m supposed to immediately contact the Oregon Department of Agriculture if I think I have these RIFAs, because they are considered an invasive species, and a serious health risk to pets and children, not to mention the damage that can be done to crops and other native plant life. A final suspect, perhaps the most likely, is the harvester ant. This is a common desert ant, which fits my habitat. Another aggressive mound-building ant. Someone wrote a whole thesis on the harvester ant and how it’s helpful in locating small artifacts in archaeological surveys. I think I’ll start digging for Paiute relics in this very spot. The only issue I’m trying to resolve with the harvester ants is whether it’s likely for them to have a red head/thorax and a black rear. This is the only photograph from the Oregon high desert (or anywhere) I can find that fits what I see here on my property; the rest are all red or all black. Anyone? I can’t live with these creatures. It’s summertime and they are seriously swarming. They inflict especially painful stings and bites. Enter the brave husband. With the poison. We are not poison-happy people, but there are limits to my consciousness. Don’t worry, my pretties, there’s enough here for everyone. Take this to your egg laying machine MOMMY!! But here’s a small problem. I went back to the mound yesterday, expecting it to be very quiet. But no. More activity and seemingly more ants than ever. I re-poisoned the area, and I’ll check again later.
Enough of the BAD! But, remember, this is the United States, and I actually own this land of the mother-of-all-anthills (and have many ant poison options), God bless America! Would you like to see the UGLY from small town America?
Isn’t it great that a local fruit stand can sell delicious, sweet oranges, ugly and all? Great value, free from government imposed pricing, grown on fruitful land in a country where one can actually be a land-owner, we are so fortunate. If you really want ugly, you can read this supposed celebrate-America-Fourth-of-July-but-really-just-leftist-propaganda editorial, for which this newspaper should be ashamed. How about these berries? I feel some baking coming on. One aisle over from the ugly oranges, and as beautiful as they come. In closing, I hope you enjoy this lovely song, one of my very favorites, from that incredible musician, Rich Mullins. Here in America. Some of my favorite lyrics from this song: “…Once I went to Appalachia, for my father he was born there, and I saw the mountains waking with the innocence of children…and the Holy King of Israel loves me here, in America!” Do you have anything (good, bad, or ugly) to share from your slice of America? God Bless the U.S.A.
Technorati Tags: fruit stand, ants, July 4th Parade, Crooked River Roundup, Fourth of July, Clydesdales, Rich Mullins, Here in America Happy 60th IsraelPosted May 8th, 2008 by Jen in politics/world news6 Comments »
May 8, 1948, Israel declared its independence. On May 14, Israel celebrates its official Independence Day. I support Israel. Visit the Israel @ 60 information headquarters for events in Washington, D.C. and around the country. Technorati Tags: Israel Independence, Israel Religious Rights of Students in Public EducationPosted April 22nd, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion10 Comments » A commenter made a good observation on my previous post about the case of the Wisconsin high school art student receiving a Zero and subsequent detentions for including in his landscape drawing a cross and the lettering “John 3:16.” The student, named as A.P. in a lawsuit against the school district, signed a policy the teacher presented at the beginning of the semester, which “prohibited any violence, blood, sexual connotations or religious beliefs in artwork.” Hmmm, placing religious beliefs alongside and seemingly on the level of violence, blood, and sexual connotations is interesting. Anyway, the comment was this:
Her question got me thinking. A minor can void a legal contract, true. The contract was not binding, but neither should it be meaningless. I don’t think it’s smart to be teaching kids that they can break contracts willy-nilly and be free of all responsibility. HOWEVER, this particular contract…oh boy. This student should have carefully read the contract at the beginning of the class and raised a stink at that point - because on the face of the policy itself is a violation of student rights, as set forth in legal precedent (Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District (1969) which upheld the right of students to wear black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War). Tinker held that the First Amendment did apply to public school students and teachers, and that regulation of student speech in the classroom would be allowed only if there was a constitutionally valid reason, like “substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.” A mere desire to avoid controversy is not a valid reason to suppress student expression. Tinker has since been limited by other cases, with the scope of free speech not including indecent speech (Bethel School District v. Fraser) and with school newspapers being regulated (Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier). See also Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators Association and Morse v. Frederick. Not only the Tinker case, but a document from the Department of Education, circulated in 2003 (Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools), makes it clear that students have a right to religious expression in the classroom. Here is the relevant portion from that D.O.E. document:
The fact that this “contract” the student in Wisconsin signed was ever conceived and drafted shows not only the ignorance, but the bias, of this teacher/school. There is a lesson here for all students and parents of students in public schools: Know your rights. Because it’s obvious that attempts will be made to violate and undermine your rights, often out of honest ignorance of the law and confusion among school leaders about the religious liberties of students. That Dept. of Education document is a good one to print out and go over carefully with your child. The prevailing anti-religious climate and the extreme, sometimes absurd, secularization of public life doesn’t appear to be letting up, so be on top of the issues and use favorable laws to your advantage while we have them. Vigorously protect religious expression - this is a unique American principle. The point of the First Amendment is to prevent a state-sponsored religion, not to squash religious expression in American public life. It is unjust and unconstitutional to mandate that public schools be religion-free zones. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … — Religious-liberty clauses, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Technorati Tags: religious liberty, First Amendment, religious expression, U.S. Constitution, religious freedom, public school Christ is Risen, Happy Easter!Posted March 23rd, 2008 by Jen in persecuted church, politics/world news, religion1 Comment » Easter blessings to you all! Today I celebrate the reason I can live. Here is some wonderful news out of Italy, a Muslim converts to Christianity.
I will pray for Allam, and many like him, who has already received death threats from Hamas, and he now faces additional danger, as converting from Islam is apostasy and punishable by death. Though killings are rare, Islamic legal doctrine does call for the death penalty for rejecting Islam. Peace of Christ to you on this blessed Easter. HT to Crunchy Con Art Heist: What’s Your Theory?Posted February 12th, 2008 by Jen in arts & crafts, germany, politics/world news5 Comments »
The spectacular art heist of this past Sunday at the Bührle Museum in Zurich has rocked the art world, and police are working around the clock to solve the case and find any possible connections with other recent thefts, including the theft the previous week of two Pablo Picasso paintings stolen from a Swiss exhibition near Zurich. A note on the museum’s website says “The museum remains closed.”
The stolen art work has been valued at $180 million and comprised four Impressionist masterpieces: Poppies near Vetheuil by Claude Monet (1879), Count Lepic and his Daughters by Edgar Degas (1871), Blossoming Chestnut Branch by Vincent Van Gogh (1890) and Boy in a Red Waistcoat by Paul Cezanne (1888). Since this month my blog features have been about great artists, and the first artist I covered was Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, this breaking news certainly caught my attention. The Bührle Museum did have a Renoir on display, Little Irene, but it wasn’t touched, probably because the three masked gunmen couldn’t carry anymore heavy paintings, and the robbers appeared to have just taken the first four they came to. Motive? I mean, you can’t go out and sell the famous stolen art. “It’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to sell these works,” said Michaela Derra of Ketterer Kunst GmbH, a Munich, Germany-based purveyor of modern and contemporary art. Here is a speculation:
However, I have my own little theory. There is apparently a Saudi collector sending his thugs out to steal art for his private collection. None of the current stories I’ve found on the Bührle theft have mentioned this connection, so I could be promoting an absurd idea. Nonetheless, just two months ago, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, paintings by Picasso and Portinari were stolen, but recovered. One of the suspects in the case told detectives the paintings were to be delivered to a Saudi collector, who has not been publicly named by authorities. The history of Mr. Emil G. Bührle is very interesting, and perhaps he himself was a collector who obtained stolen art, and conceivably everything has come full circle. Bührle, born in Germany, was an industry tycoon who provided weapons to the Third Reich during World War II. In the aftermath of the war, he amassed one of Europe’s most valuable collections of art. It’s a tragedy of the war that the Nazis looted much of the great art owned by Jews, and many of Bührle’s pieces were on a “looted art list.” Exactly how Bührle obtained his collection is unknown, but some of it is “flight art,” works smuggled out by Jews and sold at bargain-basement prices to avoid confiscation by Nazis. Maybe this art heist was Jews taking back their rightful property, via a Saudi collector, who will ask for a ransom. At this point, any theory can be thrown into the ring. Electoral Compass: What’s Your Position?Posted January 18th, 2008 by Jen in politics/world news4 Comments »
My sister just emailed me a link to Electoral Compass - it’s a very handy quiz, with only 36 questions, to analyze how you align with each political candidate for the U.S. Presidential Election of 2008. Respond to each query, and voila, who you’re voting for is settled! No more undecided voters. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as a quiz. I’m a strong Mike Huckabee supporter, but the final report told me I’m closest to John McCain and furthest from Barack Obama (I would have guessed Hillary Clinton). You have to keep in mind that you may place more weight on a particular matter, while the quiz will give equal weight to all. The issues covered in the questions are: gun control, environment, Iraq, economy, income, national security, family, immigration, health care, law and order, education, and terrorism. A very nice feature of the quiz is that at the end, you may compare each of the candidates with your answers. An even nicer feature are the links provided on every issue for each candidate, linking to the various sources that are the basis of the quiz, such as debate transcripts, candidates’ websites, and other news sources. Strangely enough, it looks like this quiz was created by someone in the Netherlands. No guns, oh, and no free speech on public transitPosted January 1st, 2008 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion5 Comments » The Texas woman who was kicked off the Forth Worth, Texas public transportation system “T” bus this past Saturday - was she concealing a weapon, endangering passengers with violent behavior, or selling drugs? No, she was reading her Bible to her children, enroute to church. Public Transportation is rife with problems. Last April in St. Paul, Minnesota, the city saw a 16 year old shot and killed while a passenger on the Metro Transit bus. In November, a 71 year old man was brutally beaten with a baseball bat in Gresham, Oregon by a 15 year old gang member at the MAX public transit station. Just two weeks ago in Baltimore, a 14 year old boy was shot and wounded on a Maryland Transit bus. And here’s just two paragraphs from the Baltimore Sun article to give you a taste of the real problems facing public transportation in major cities:
So don’t give me this flap about a lady reading the Bible on the bus. Is there nothing more interesting happening in Fort Worth, and the terribly bored bus drivers must resort to throwing off Bible reading mothers? According to MyFox Dallas-Fort Worth, the woman kicked off the bus, Christine Lutz, sees this as a clear case of religious persecution. Lutz told FOX 4 that she was sitting in the back of the bus, not being disruptive, and reading to her children from the Bible. She said she was stunned when the bus driver asked her to stop reading her Bible. Lutz responded, “No, I’m reading the Bible, I’m teaching the kids, I’m going to continue.” Before she knew it, the bus had pulled over, and she and her kids were escorted into a supervisor’s van and driven the remainder of the way to church. Now, as a homeschooling mom, I’m quite familiar with teaching on the go. In the van on the way to Cub Scouts, along the grocery aisles, in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, in line at the Post Office. I’m always teaching, reading the kids a story, answering questions. When dealing with children, animation is often required. I’ve surely annoyed some people along the way. However, the person waiting in line behind me to get his package shipped has no constitutional right to not be annoyed by my teaching. And I have a right to free speech. So does the obnoxious person shipping that package talking at full volume on his cell phone. So does the mother reading the Bible to her children on the public transit system. Officials at the Fort Worth T (Trinity Railway Express) claim that their treatment of Lutz had nothing to do with the content of what she was reading, but that she was simply too loud. They point to signs on the bus warning against playing radios and loud behavior. “If she were reading Moby Dick or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or reading anything else, the same thing would have occurred,” said bus representative Joan Hunter. Really, Joan, does everyone sit in complete silence on the Fort Worth T? Perhaps I’ll try riding the T and read Winnie the Pooh to my children and see if I get thrown off. Given that not a single passenger had complained, this story is pretty weak. Given the real, bona fide problems facing mass transit systems in large cities, like thieves, gangs, and drug dealers, it’s clear to this blogger that the bus driver was in fact engaging in a form of religious persecution. Or maybe just an extremely low annoyance tolerance level. This woman deserves the public apology she is seeking. Anything for a VotePosted December 7th, 2007 by Jen in family life, politics/world news6 Comments » I was listening to NPR the other day, and heard about “Caucus! The Musical,” a lighthearted musical comedy highlighting Iowa’s crucial role in the frenzied presidential nomination process. One of the songs was aired, “Anything for a Vote,” and here the creator of “Caucus!”, Robert John Ford, gives us a hilarious and irreverent view of a politician’s campaigning. Here’s a taste:
If you live in Iowa and get a chance to see one of their shows, it sounds like you’re in for a treat.”Caucus! The Musical” premieres at the State Historical Museum Theatre in Des Moines December 27, 2007 through January 13, 2008.
Last weekend, I found myself at the Portland Airport, and my niece’s flight was delayed several hours, so I ended up not being able to drive back over the mountain that night. As I sat waiting, I was thankful I had brought my laptop, and got some work done. AND, I shot off an email to Mrs. Darling, who I happened to know lived in the area. She is a great bloggy friend, and I hesitated only a moment before clicking “send,” thinking, she won’t mind. I gave her my cell phone number, and said, hey, I’m stuck in Portland for a while, would you mind a visitor?! Sure enough, just before my niece’s plane rolled in, my phone rang. Mrs. D. and I made arrangements, and she was not a bit nervous giving her address to a complete stranger! Only, we’re really not strangers, as we discovered. We’ve corresponded enough through blog and email that when we finally sat down for a long visit, if was as if with an old friend. I’m sure all of Mrs. Darling’s other blog friends are quite jealous! She always has long lists of visitors, and I can assure them all that Mrs. D. is truly just as she presents herself. For having a drop-in visitor, her house was immaculate, she quickly prepared some delicious hors d’oeuvres and coffee, and she set aside her other plans for her surprise guest. I was honored. Now, Mrs. D. should really get an award for her amazing hospitality. Yesterday in History: Benazir Bhutto of PakistanPosted November 17th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news4 Comments » Yesterday I wanted to write about “This Day in History.” I didn’t have time…do you ever have a great idea for a blog post, do a bit of research, then, poof, your time is gone and there are real-life obligations to tend to? So, just to give you my Reader’s Digest condensed version of yesterday’s This Day in History, here it is. November 16 - On this day in 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first woman, and at age 35 the youngest person in modern times, to be head of the government of a Muslim-majority state.
Benazir Bhutto has attended Radcliffe, Harvard, and Oxford. Her father was a former Prime Minister who was executed for conspiracy to murder the father of a dissident politician. Two of her brothers were murdered. She has been under house arrest, lived in exile, and survived an assassination attempt. How can you not be curious about this enigmatic woman? Since November 3, 2007, there has been a “State of Emergency” in Pakistan, as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution and imposed martial law, citing dangers of religious extremism, terrorism, and an interfering judiciary. Bhutto immediately interrupted a visit to family in Dubai (Grace, have you seen her around? :-) ) and returned to Pakistan. Initial talks of power-sharing between Bhutto and Musharraf have broken down. Yesterday, Benazir Bhutto said she would not talk to Pervez Musharraf on any issue, but will continue her struggle against dictatorship in Pakistan and seek to restore democracy. Bhutto’s recent comments:
I hope you’re able to follow a bit of the news coming out of Pakistan. I think the Pakistani situation has great bearing on the future of Middle East stability and the war on terror, which ultimately has a direct and terrifying bearing on the the United States. Bhutto now presents herself as the opposition leader, with probable elections in January. Hmmm, read this before you decide what you think. Deals with the DevilPosted August 14th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news, religion4 Comments »
Supposedly, this release was a “gesture of goodwill” according to a Taliban spokesman. However, an unnamed source says the two hostages were freed for ransom, after direct negotiations between the government of South Korea and the Taliban. I welcome the release of the two women, and praise God for this unfolding of events. However… Is it right to make deals with the devil? I’ve been grappling with this issue of giving in to the demands of the Taliban. Every compassionate person in the world wants these hostages released. But what is the real price? It’s not $10 million and it’s not eight Taliban fighters being released. It’s a strengthened force of evil that gets more powerful every time it is fed through compromise. I had to ask that question, WWJD? I found an answer of sorts in these scriptures. Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-15; John 1:19-2:25. These are the biblical accounts of Jesus facing the Devil in the wilderness. Jesus had been fasting for forty days and forty nights and he was hungry, as any man would be. The Devil came and tempted him with several deals. In exchange for Jesus dealing with the Devil in some way or another, and giving the Devil either legitimacy or worship, Jesus could have bread to eat, personal safety, or all the power in the world. Jesus was in an extremely difficult position and was offered a variety of tempting compromises by the Devil. So I decided I could attempt a comparison here. In my little analogy, Jesus will be the Christian South Koreans and their advocates, and the Devil will be the Taliban. So the Taliban Devil comes to the South Korean Christian advocates, which group is also in an extremely difficult position, and begins to offer deals. The heart of the deals is a demand to recognize me, worship me, which is what the Devil really wants. If the South Korean Christian advocates would respond as Jesus, they would first say, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” In other words, being held hostage, when offered freedom (bread) at the cost of bowing to the demands of the Devil, they should decline, believing that their life and freedom comes from the mouth of God. Next, when the South Korean Christian advocates are guaranteed their personal safety as Jesus was (throw Yourself down and the angels will catch you, quoting scripture), they should respond, “You shall not put the Lord Your God to the test.” In other words, when the Taliban Devil begins to talk as if he is a genuine and sanctioned authority who knows the language of negotiation, do not be fooled. And finally, when the Taliban Devil says I will give you all the hostages if you give me $10 Million (fall down and worship me), then the response of the South Korean Christian advocates should be “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord Your God, and serve Him only.’” And what do you think would happen if the South Korean Christian advocates responded as Jesus did and refused to deal with the Devil? Would everything fall apart, would everyone die, would there be ruin? No, I believe that we would have the same ending as given in Matthew 4:11: “Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” photo credits: Korea Times Taliban MurderersPosted August 1st, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news6 Comments » I noticed a CNN story from July 22, in which a Taliban spokesman said that talks with South Korea over the fate of the 23 volunteer [Christian] aid workers were progressing well, and “the situation will be solved peacefully.” These South Korean Christian aid workers were seized by Taliban forces on July 18, while travelling from Kandahar to the Afghan capital of Kabul. Well, the Taliban has murdered two of the hostages so far - as of Aug. 1, 2007, 10:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The latest Taliban deadline has passed. My prayers go out to the families of Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and Shim Sung-min. Why, again, is any government negotiating with lying, murderous madmen? I am on my knees praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ, who are being persecuted. Please join me. The Afghan army has dropped leaflets in the Ghazni area where the hostages are being held, warning area residents of an impending military mission. I can only pray for God-speed, a successful mission, the saving of the South Korean Christians, and the destruction of the Taliban. But under no circumstances should any of the governments or groups involved bow to the requests of the Taliban. No exchange of militant Taliban prisoners for the South Korean hostages. Giving in to the demands of terrorists only invites more terrorism. This is so very difficult, I know. The humanitarian loss is crushing. If my son or daughter were among the hostages…I am sure my emotions would cloud my opinions.
There is a gathering of South Korean families at the U.S. Embassy today. These families of the hostages are angry….at the United States. One young man carries a sign that says “Bush, talk to the Taleban.” And why is this situation the fault of the United States? Yes, we led the multinational force that brought down the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Does that mean the U.S. is responsible for the acts of every madman in the region? No, it’s just nice to have someone else to blame, somewhere else to direct your anger. photo credits: Reuters Growing up on Rt. 666: Immigration Reform and Border SecurityPosted June 15th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news5 Comments » Just give me some border security, and the only other thing I ask is for Mexico to clean up the homeland a sufficient amount so their natives will remain there and enjoy their own beloved country.
I remember in 1990 when U.S. Customs officials discovered the most sophisticated underground concrete tunnel between Agua Prieta and Douglas…responsible for the trafficking of many thousands of tons of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S., right down Rt. 666. I was gone by then, but not at all surprised by this discovery. Back then, Rt. 666 was perhaps the greatest drug trafficking avenue from Mexico. We couldn’t put a stop to it then, and look where it’s got us. The drug cartel activity is reaching desperate proportions - do you recall the Cananea shootings last month? Just southeast of Nogales, AZ, nearly spilling over into border towns, were 50 out of control Mexican drug hit men, killing police officers and others who were targeted for betraying an agreement with a drug cartel. My childhood crush was Ernesto Hermosillo, the cutest Mexican boy I knew, and the kindest and smartest boy altogether. I can honestly say I survived living in Cochise County, Arizona without a trace of racist attitude toward Mexicans, despite my incredibly racist father who rambled on about the “damned wetbacks” and refused to let me play with Marianne, the only black girl in the entire county. Maybe it was because we were so dirt poor (I literally lived in a shack with a dirt floor, until it was upgraded to concrete way before this was fashionable) that Ernie’s quonset hut looked really nice next to my shack. So, the piece of immigration reform now on the table that relates to border security…that’s what I’m interested in. I have absolutely nothing against good Mexican people, and I still love Ernie, wherever he is, but I want legality, I want safety, I want zero tolerance for drug trafficking Mexican cartel thugs. As my husband and I were just discussing this issue of immigration, he said the heart of the matter is really wages. We make all the illegals legal, and we suddenly have to pay them a fair wage. Can our country handle that? I said, why can’t Mexico just reform their country enough to make it nice enough to not want to leave it? Ah, here is the real issue. Mexico is corrupt. Too corrupt to reform its country. We philosophized about why this is. To us, the answer is obvious. Nations that forget God will fail. We named several countries off the top of our heads that are corrupt and riddled with unsurmountable problems, that have forgotten God. African nations, China, Russia, Latin America, …. Back to immigration reform and border security. There appears to be no immediate chance for Mexico to undergo an overnight no-corruption makeover. Do we want children of a corrupt father spilling over the borders? I don’t know, I had a corrupt father but does that make me corrupt? Do I want secure borders? Absolutely, and I’ll pay the price for it. If the Hermosillos are locked out, along with the drug lords, so be it. The current immigration bill would commit the most resources to border security in U.S. history, and that gets my vote. Rt. 666 has a new name, let’s give it a new image. Melissa’s Birthday CakePosted April 24th, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, politics/world news9 Comments »
And I couldn’t resist showing some pictures of the aftermath of lighting the candles. My kids had such fun–but they do understand why we celebrated with this cake today. My 5 year old daughter, who wasn’t completely solid on the details, told her grandma the cake was for “Melissa, who turned 16 and escaped from jail.” But as you may know, Melissa herself stated that her time in the psychiatric ward was “like a prison.”
I’ve emailed my cake picture to: falumafischer@aol.com - and if you have a picture, get it on over there, and be sure to post here to let me see it, too! This “Birthday Action” for Melissa is a small token of love to her, and this project will culminate with a special album to be given to Melissa, including all of the photos which are submitted. The pictures will soon be posted on Bildungsinitiative Zukunft.
Melissa, we feasted on your cake, and we speak blessings over you this day. Welcome Home, Melissa and Happy Birthday!Posted April 23rd, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news5 Comments »
We have been praying, with thousands of others, for this outcome. We continue to pray for the many other German homeschooling families still being persecuted. I wonder what the situation would look like if Melissa were say, only 13 years old? Would that mean three more years in confinement away from her family? There are efforts underway by several groups within Germany to push for education reform and the reversal of the law making homeschooling illegal. The Kolloquium being held this weekend in Germany (April 27-29), hosted by Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit, is the second annual International Colloquim on Home Education, the goal being freedom of choice in education. If you’d like to make a contribution to this cause, that’s a practical way to give assistance. Most people I know are ignorant of the gravity of this situation. Please investigate. Dana reports that a “Birthday Action” is planned on behalf of Melissa. The idea is to light 16 candles (on a cake? or not) and take a picture - send it to falumafischer@aol.com. The goal is for 123 families to take part, so a total of 1,968 candles may be lit, one for each hour Melissa has been held hostage by the state. The pictures will then be posted here. I’ll post my picture later today! For some other ideas on actions you can take, visit Natasha’s site, and browse through her posts on who to appeal to in the government, and ideas for letters to write, among other particulars. Another interesting action to look into is the possibility of providing asylum to German families who are fleeing the country or going into hiding to avoid the tragedy of Melissa - their children being stolen away. An article I read recently quoted Home School Legal Defense Association co-founder, Michael Farris as saying:
I was wondering, and perhaps someone out there can inform me — is there a need for people to be offering asylum? Here in America, how would one go about offering asylum? Would German families even want to come here? Legally, does the United States grant asylum to individuals wanting to escape a fellow “democratic” nation? Just thinking. UPDATE: See Dana’s update regarding the startling details of of Melissa’s return home. A refusal by the Youth Welfare Office to allow Melissa to visit her parents for her birthday led her to climb out her foster family’s window at 3 a.m. and make her way home! Expect some further action here. She apparently has not yet been discharged from the foster care system, and the Youth Welfare Office is saying they will carefully consider further steps “in the interests of the child.” If their consideration of the best interest of Melissa is the guiding light here, expect more travesty of justice. Bonhoeffer executed today in 1945Posted April 9th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news, religion5 Comments » Monday, April 9 - today’s date - in 1945, was the morning of the hanging of Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the Flossenburg Concentration Camp. German pastor, writer, dissident, and martyr. A great force behind the German Resistance to Hitler’s Nazi regime. Sadly, ironically, but perhaps most profound, is the fact that just a few days later, Allied troops liberated the camp. Three weeks following, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide, and within a month, Germany had surrendered unconditionally. But I believe that Bonhoeffer speaks to us through his sacrifice more clearly today than he did in his life.
Just as a prophet is not accepted in his own town (Matthew 13:57), Bonhoeffer was speaking so far ahead of his time that I believe most of his contemporaries benefited little from his life. Many of his fellow pastors and churchpeople supported Hitler’s policies. The true beneficiaries of Dietrich Bonhoeffer are those of us living today. As he explained his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer said: “If I see a madman driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.” A further glimpse into the action-oriented Bonhoeffer was his collaboration in an effort to help a group of Jews escape to Switzerland, which led to his arrest and imprisonment in April 1943, two years prior to his execution. So, I’m trying to lay the framework of all of this history onto life today. Here’s a Bonhoeffer quote that helps his death bring some benefit to me today: “Nothing is fixed, and nothing holds us. The film, vanishing from memory as soon as it ends, symbolizes the profound amnesia of our time. Events of world-historical significance, along with the most terrible crimes, leave no trace behind in the forgetful soul.” Can we please not suffer from profound amnesia? Can we please not be illiterate regarding church history? Bonhoeffer displayed the most admirable resistance to tyranny you can hope for; yet this was too late for his own age - we are the recipients, and our call is to respond to the conditions that make tyranny possible. We are offered the opportunity, if we would educated ourselves with this history, to direct action at the root of the problem, instead of being forced into a violent struggle with the full-blown fuhrer. So, The Cost of Discipleship teaches me that believing in Jesus isn’t enough - there is a call to action, and Bonhoeffer sets a real-life example of sometimes radical action. Bonhoeffer warns against the “cheap grace” that advocates belief without obedience. “Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth.” Here are some issues I’ll be exploring in more detail in another post - this is an excerpt from the 2003 documentary film, Bonhoeffer:
Do you think the church has any reason today to act against the state? Ahh, now we’re getting to the heart of this, and we must examine this closer if Bonhoeffer’s martyrdom is to have been of any profit. (I don’t want to presume that some action against the state is the only thing that results from Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, it’s just one matter among many that I’d like to explore. And so no one assumes a Waco-style ambush, I have a very pacifist bent, as did Bonhoeffer, I’m not talking about war-mongering against the state.) Britons back home, Happy Easter! But why?Posted April 5th, 2007 by Jen in politics/world news1 Comment »
An Associated Press story today said the release is largely credited to the pragmatic conservatives like Ali Larijani, Iran’s top foreign policy negotiator (and also its chief nuclear negotiator). Well, with “pragmatic” being defined with synonyms like “sensible” and “practical,” one would be hopeful.
Maybe he’s pragmatic in comparison to Iran’s hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would like to see the U.S. as well as Israel wiped from the map. It’s like saying that when compared to jumping off a 300 foot cliff onto rocks, jumping off a 200 foot cliff onto rocks is very sensible. So why the release of the Britons? I honestly don’t know, but I highly doubt that pragmatism is the answer. This is pure political maneuvering, propaganda at its best. Iran has an aggressive nuclear program, and of course the release of these British sailors and marines raised hopes for Iranian compromises on its nuclear program, as stated in the A.P. story. There is no compromise with madmen. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned, “If the synagogues are set on fire today, it will be the churches that will be burned tomorrow.” photo credits: AP and Reuters Scopes in reversePosted March 26th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news, religion, science5 Comments »
Pebble Chaser has covered this superbly, so I won’t go into the whole terrible ordeal; go see what Heidi said. I did just want to add that I found it incredibly ironic that a brief glance back in history shows that the Butler Act, 1925, prohibited teachers from teaching anything but the Divine Creation of man as set forth in the Bible, and specifically banned teaching that man was descended from a lower order of animals. (Of course, the ridiculous publicity stunt of the Scopes trial changed that.) But here we are, just 80 some years later, and those same teachers are prohibited from teaching anything but that man was descended from a lower order of animals. photo by: Gary Albertson Stop the world, I want to get off!Posted March 22nd, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news3 Comments »
And what of the new German case of the Brause family?! What in the world? Two parents with college degrees, a judge who acknowledges the children are “well-educated,” yet the court has taken custody of the five children away from their homeschooling parents (though not yet removed from the home)…The crime, again, is not providing the children with a public school education. (Just in case you haven’t been following, homeschooling is illegal in Germany.) The fears of the International Human Rights Group, and so many others, have come true. The German state has been emboldened by the court’s decision in the Busekros case, and continues to TERRORIZE homeschool families. What planet am I on? “Stop the world, I want to get off!” When I read of the Brause case, on the heels of the Busekros tragedy, I immediately thought of Randy Stonehill’s song, “Stop the World.”
STOP THE WORLD
Stop the world
No, no
In Germany you can prosti*ute
Well, I think I’ll go throw up now. I certainly can’t sleep after thinking about this. If you want to comment, click on the title above, go to the bottom of this post and comment. In Him we live and move and have our beingPosted March 20th, 2007 by Jen in education, poetry, politics/world news, religion4 Comments » I thought I’d take the Apostle Paul’s tactic with Athens, and quote some poetry for Germany. Around A.D. 50, Paul went to preach in Athens, then eminently famous for learning, philosophy, and fine arts. And godless idolatry. The Athenians actually had an altar with the inscription, “To the unknown god,” just in case they missed one in all their god-worshipping.
So, on to Germany…I must say I was inspired by commenter John’s post at Principled Discovery. Regarding the German homeschool case of Melissa Busekros, which I’ve written about here and here, John gave a historical context of the intellectual elitist mentality in Germany:
Many people do not realize that prior to what took place in the late 1930’s and early to mid 1940’s Germany had become the most intellectual and erudite nation on the planet. It is this very mentality that spawned the horrible dilemma of WW2 and the Holocaust that is now part of our World history. Germany reminds me of Athens, I must say. Intellectual, erudite…And John ended his comment with these words: Every civilization that has forgotten God has failed. Well, the Apostle Paul was probably the greatest teacher and most successful evangelizer of all time (besides Jesus), and if he quotes Athenian poetry to Athenians, I can’t go wrong quoting German poetry to Germans.
Excerpt from Faust, Part 1 Der Allumfasser, And in English: The all-embracing one, Goethe Learned men and women of Germany, do not worship intellectualism or philosophy, but worship God, “the all-embracing one, the all-preserving one,” as your own poet has said. The child is not the mere creature of the statePosted March 13th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news4 Comments »
The famous words from Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), would be helpful for the German judges to take to heart: “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” This landmark case held that the Oregon Compulsory Education Act that required attendance at public schools was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment. There have been a string of other courts cases which have solidified the rights of parents to homeschool their children. An interesting note in the Pierce case is that it was the Ku Klux Klan that was behind the amendment to Oregon’s Compulsory Education Act which would have made it illegal for students to attend private schools. Of course, we know the strong ties during WWI between the KKK and the Nazis. It seems like the same types of people are intent on passing the same types of laws.
Aha! So the German State has further indicted itself, and this is even worse than just saying homeschooling is illegal. They have just violated their own Basic Law (Grundgesetz). The Basic Law, by the way, is the constitution of Germany, and came into effect in 1949 after being ratified by all the German states (Lander) - with the exception of Bavaria, where not so coincidentally, the Busekros family resides. Right off the bat, Article 1 of the Basic Law says “human dignity shall be inviolable.” Skip to the heart of the matter and read Article 4: “Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.” Saying so doesn’t make it so. It’s violable, all right. It says right there that everyone should have the freedom to say that their State is despotic and fascist! Everything the Busekros lawyers need to back up their case is spelled out in the German constitution. Or they can look at similar wording in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which, I must point out, specifically addresses parental rights in education: Article 26(3) says “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” Prior rights means the parent’s right is prior to the state’s right. So what in the world is wrong with these German judges?? I have no idea what German case law looks like, or what legal precedents are in their courts. Is this judicial tyranny? Is Germany still too “newborn” to stand up on it’s wobbly legs of democracy? Would their judges show enough wisdom and humility and look at some of our legal rulings? (At least look at them now, before the tide turns over on this side of the world). Condoleezza, what about Germany?Posted March 7th, 2007 by Jen in education, politics/world news9 Comments »
“A problem for some groups” is truly an understatement of the horrific human rights violations occurring in Germany. Because of a 1938 law prohibiting homeschooling, German families who have a need or desire for an alternative education are literally being persecuted. The Busekros case is unfolding in 2007, so I can’t hold the Human Rights Report to task for this oppression, however, 2006 and previous years are rife with examples of egregious violations. A February, 2006 letter to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights details several violations of German homeschoolers’ civil and human rights, including the following acts enforced against home educating parents by the German state: imprisonment, fines, loss of custody of children, criminal charges, children forced to school by police, and forced admission of children into a psychiatric clinic or foster home. The Busekros case is simply a continuation of a pattern of abuse. Yes, this is current, I am not pulling stories from 1940s era Germany, as it would seem. The 1938 law enacted by the Hitler regime was an effort to control every aspect of free thought, and we all know the results, unless you’re one of the “Holocaust-never-happened” people. And how is the modern German state justifying its position that compulsory education can not include home education? A few quotes I came across shed some light. Here’s an excerpt from a letter from the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, in response to inquiries on the Melissa Busekros case: “The public has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion or motivated by different world views and in integrating minorities into the population as a whole.” That doesn’t sound a whole lot different than old Germany, and I can think of an entire parallel culture that was nearly wiped out by that philosophy. Another telling quote, from a 2005 case involving seven homeschool families in Northwest Germany, is even more insidious. Heinz Kohler, the county education director, said that “the parents’ rights to personally educate their children would prevent the children from growing up to be responsible individuals within society…” Clearly, something is going on here, because studies of homeschoolers show higher test scores, greater community involvement, and very well-rounded individuals. What Kohler and the German state meant to say is that the children will grow up to be free-thinking (horrors) responsible individuals within society. I can understand compulsory education in that the state has a legitimate interest in an educated public, but there are many, many ways to educate, and many individual circumstances that call for an alternative education. For crying out loud, an eight year old disabled boy was forced, against his parents’ wishes, and with the threat of removal of custody, to attend the school the German officials demanded he attend (the Gerber case). So, there are strange things going on in Germany. Prostitution is legal and widespread, while homeschooling is illegal and families are fleeing the country. And a precious young girl is still held hostage away from her family. Please visit the International Human Rights Group website for a list of high ranking German officials to contact to voice your protest and demand in the name of human rights that Melissa be released back into the custody of her parents. As for Condoleezza Rice and the State Department, I’d ask that they take a closer look at Germany. |
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Almost better than the cake itself are the rituals of blowing out the candles and then licking the frosting off the candles. With three or more children blowing at once, the task is accomplished in an instant. I had to shoot fast to get this on camera. And hey, we’re all family here, so a little spit on the cake is no matter.
Oh, if you could have seen these kids double-dipping their candles into the white fluffy frosting! Personally, I find the frosting revolting, and have always, even as a child, scraped it right off! And whenever I can get away with it, I prepare our cakes sans frosting.
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